


Our old souls

by Miraculous_daughter_of_posiedon



Series: abditory: a hiding place [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Family Reunions, Fluff, Foster Care, Hurt/Comfort, LGBT characters, M/M, ace-spectrum characters, aro-spectrum characters, chosen family, i love my dead(ish) gay(ish) sons, i love to hurt my precious bbs, people can be awful
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-01-13 07:16:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18464110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miraculous_daughter_of_posiedon/pseuds/Miraculous_daughter_of_posiedon
Summary: Alexander Hernandez has been thrown around the system for years, tortured by old and new memories alike. Now he's with the Warrens and everyone seem's familiar. especially his foster siblings' curly haired best friend.can also be found on wattpad.





	1. Prologue

The waves crashed against the cliff and the smell of sea salt filled his lungs. With it came the simple bliss of childhood memories. Distantly, he was aware that this shouldn’t be possible, that he wasn’t in Nevis and the nearest body of water was the Houston, not the Atlantic. He couldn’t bring himself to care.

Memories of his mother filled his mind and unwillingly, his mind retraced his footsteps. His life came rushing back all at once and he was flooded with memories. The hurricane, the war, Eliza, Phillip, his other children, and John. His John.

Alexander opened his eyes. He shouldn’t be here. He was in New York with a bullet in his ribs, not Nevis with the smell of the sea in his lungs. He looked out into the water. Images from his lifetime filled the waters, dancing in front of him. Eliza’s face rippled in the water next to his mother’s. His children at all ages scattered around in the waves, face distorted by the waves.

He watched battles and cabinet meetings, words and bullets flying from one side to another in an all to familiar fashion float amongst the waves. His youngest children playing as he walked down the stairs for dinner. The Reynolds Pamphlet and burning letters. Phillip dying in front of him. Eliza taking his hand. Kissing her forehead as he left that morning, unsure if that would be the last time in his home. Then standing in front of Burr, raising his gun to the sky and watching the bullet fly towards him and feeling it hit.

The images faded out of the water and one more face filled his sight. Blond hair and blue eyes, John’s face filled his view. Him when the two first met. Him in battle. Him dueling lee. Him in their tent, the quiet moments between the two of them had always been his favorite. John leaving, his beautiful blue eyes filling with tears as he kissed him one last time. John’s face disappeared and their letters filled the water.

Alex reread them best he could before they faded from view, seeming to dissolve in the water. The water was now clear and Alexander could hear footsteps approaching.

He quickly turned around and froze. There, standing several feet away from him and fast approaching was a familiar face. His golden hair shined in the light, creating the illusion of a halo. His eyes were as blue as Alex remembered and seemed to pierce his soul.

“Hello Alexander.” his voice was melodic.

“John” Alexander was breathless, his voice barely above a whisper.

“No” the person  now nameless though still holding the achingly familiar appearance, shook their head, “ though I can’t say I’m surprised that he’s the one you see.”

Alex grew more and more confused.

“I am the guide of the afterlife. I help you go where you need. You see me as John because he is the person you most want to see in the afterlife.”

“Oh,” Alex felt stupid but that was the best thing he could come up with. “ where do I go?”

“You’ve walked a hard road Alexander,” the mediator said, as if  _ he  _ needed to tell  _ Alexander  _ that, “ and yet you still managed to thrive. My superiors found you worthy of a second chance.”

“A second chance?”

“Reincarnation” Alexander felt his eyes widening but he didn’t have time to question it before a door appeared in front of the pair. The Guide turned to Alexander with a knowing look in his eyes as he opened the door.

“Good luck Alexander. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

The door shut and Alexander was overwhelmed in a bright light. More than 200 years later, on a small island in the the Caribbean sea he was reborn.


	2. My Name Is...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex's new incarnation is introduced and meets Margret "Martha" Warren, his new foster mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk if anyone is actually reading this but here you go anyway!

****

Alexander woke up in a car. He startled for a second then relaxed slightly, remembering where he was. ‘Guard up Alexander, never let your guard down’. He tensed again.

“Ahh so you’ve decided to rejoin us in the world of the living.” from anyone else the phrase might have seemed harmless, innocent, playful even. Not from Mr. King. Greggery King was Alex’s social worker that couldn't care less if Alex died as long as he got his paycheck. Alex knew this from experience.

“We are less than an hour away, so keep everything in your bag until we arrive.” alex nodded and the man continued. “And Alexander?” the boy in question looked up and made eye contact. “Please try not to mess this up.”

It was all he could do not to roll his eyes at the older man. They both knew that it wasn’t Alexander's fault that the other houses had kicked him out, a fact Mr. King was all too happy to ignore. 

“They’re a very high status family so try not to be too barbaric Alexander. They also have an adopted son, Gillion or something, please do try not to punch this one, you won’t get another shot this straight.” King cut a sharp glare in his direction and Alex ignored it pointedly. There was a story behind punching the kid, but no one cared about that. Alex wasn’t surprised, no one ever did, never will. Alex wouldn’t get his hopes up, he _ is _ a realist after all. 

Time skip

The car pulled up in the driveway and Alex scrambled out. He knew from experience that King wouldn’t wait for him. First impressions may be deceptive but they’re important and Alex can’t afford to botch his.

They reached the doorway and King rang the doorbell. There was a single split second of silence before a woman’s voice called a quick “coming” and footsteps were heard. The door opened and revealed a middle aged woman with kind brown eyes. She had her hair in a messy bun and she gave off a homey vibe. Alex wasn’t deceived for a second.

“Hello dear, you must be Alexander. I’m Margret Warren but you can call me Martha,” she shook Alex’s hand and he let out a small “hello” before she turned to Mr. King, “ I presume there’s paperwork to get done. George was kept up at the office but we can go over everything then I can fax the paper work over to you when he gets the chance to sign it.”

“In that case miss, I best be getting home. I’ll leave the paperwork and his records with you. Email me if you have any questions.” She didn’t even have time to answer before he turned around and left. She stared, bewildered for a solid minute before she muttered sarcastically,

“Well ain’t he just a ray of sunshine.” Alex snorted before he could stop himself and tensed up in fear a moment, but Mrs. Warren beamed at him.

“Is he always like that?” Alex shrugged.

“Pretty much, he doesn’t really care about anything to my knowledge,” then he paused, considering, “well there’s his paycheck I guess.” Mrs. Warren looked at him, eyes full of mirth before frowning.

“Wait, he doesn’t care about you at all?” She looked incredulous and Alex shivered.  _ That’s an understatement.  _ She must’ve  thought he was cold because she herded him in quickly and shut the door. 

Alex was struck by how lived in the house was. He hadn’t gotten a particularly good look at the house while he was rushing to the door, but it had been quite large and he was not expecting a homey feel. The living room, which was right next to the door, had a large couch and a TV, it wasn’t necessarily messy, but it had personal quirks that added a certain vibe that reminder Alex of hot chocolate with his mom, thumb wars with Adria, who was the closest thing he had to a sister, both were long gone now, in different ways, Adria was alive as far as he knew, but gone nonetheless. 

The longer he spent reminiscing, the further back he remembered. Tea with Eliza and their kids, cuddling with John in the aide-de-camp tent, when the sun hadn’t yet risen and they could simply enjoy each other’s company, John’s hand in his hair, his own on John’s chest and his lips pressing chaste kisses to John’s neck.

Alex looked away from the living room abruptly. He needed to stop doing that. The longer he spent reminiscing his love the less he was going to be satisfied with whatever love he found now. He wasn’t making the same mistake twice.

“Sorry for the clutter, I’ve been busy with a case and lost track of time.” Mrs.Warren commented aimlessly.

“It’s fine. Wait. Case? Alex was suddenly very interested. He could practically feel her file the information away for later.

“Uh yes!” she was obviously surprised in his interest, “ I’m a lawyer at a nearby firm. Are you interested in law?” Alex remembered his cases back when he was Hamilton and fought back a smile.  _ Understatement of multiple centuries.  _ He snorted at his own joke and rushed to respond before she had the chance to misunderstand his laughter. 

“Understatement to say the least.” Mrs. Warren looked overjoyed at this.

“Really!?” she smiled brightly, “ I can’t get Gil to even take a look at my law books. They always look like they smelled rotting cheese whenever i even attempt to bringing it up!” Alex smiled a bit at that, Adria had been the same way.

“That’s your son right?” Mrs. Warren looked startled for a second then uncomfortably stated,

“Um, no. Gil is non-binary so we refer to them as our child and they/them pronouns.” Alex put on an apologetic face for his reply.

“ I probably shouldn’t have assumed the son thing. Thank god i know that now though, that would be an awkward moment.” Mrs. Warren beamed.

“Oh Gil is going to love you! They’re out walking the dogs now, both them and the dogs can be a bit, well, much so i decided it would be a good idea to get them both out of the house while you settle in. Speaking of which, we should put your stuff in your room.”  She lead him up the stairs to a room and opened the door. Alex gawked and Mrs. Warren smiled at him sweetly.

“We weren’t sure if you had any toiletries so we decided to get you some, better safe than sorry after all. There are bathrooms down the hall on both sides, me and George usually use the one on the right so I’d recommend putting anything you need to use in the mornings in the one on the left. It’s probably messy with Gil’s make up and stuff so I’ll have them clean it all up when they get home but I’ll leave you to get settled in.” she smiled warmly and put a soft hand on his shoulder. He flinched a bit. He could tell she was filing that away as well, but her eyes were still warm.

“We’re all really happy to happy here, Alexander and we all hope you like it.” Alex wasn’t sure how to respond to a warm welcome and open and closed his mouth for a second before deciding on a soft “Alex. Call me Alex.” but as she was turning to leave he grabbed her wrist and whispered, “thankyou” Mrs. Warren looked at him with soft eyes that he hadn’t been uses to since he and Adria were separated.

“Of course, dear.” then she turned and walked away. Alex looked into the room and walked in. he gazed in awe for a second before sitting on the bed. It was soft and he couldn’t help but lay back. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise when he drifted off into sleep


	3. ...Alexander Hamilton

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex has a dream and then meets the rest of his foster family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter for you guys!
> 
> slight trigger warning for implied/ referenced past self harm

In his dream, Alexander was on the island again. He saw his mom appear at his side and turned to look at her. From the corner of his eye he saw the corner store. He stopped walking. No. 

His mom was walking into the store. He screamed.

“NO” no one heard. There was a gunshot and suddenly she disappeared. In her place came the hurricane. Screams and wood wirled in the wind, side by side. With the winds came memories and with the memories, heartache. Regret poled in puddles around his heart flooding his senses. It bit into his skin alongside the rain, piercing his heart and cutting his bones.

Suddenly he was standing in the eye of the hurricane and a figure stood with her arms stretched out inviting him to a hug. Alex ran into her arms, crying and she held him, giving comfortable murmurings.

“Shh my little firecracker, I’m here, the storm can’t reach you in my arms my love.” but Adria was ripped away, taking his faith in humanity with her. He looked down, blood covered his front in a permanent branding of her shape. Voices screamed in all directions.

“YOUR FAULT! ALL YOUR FAULT! THEY’RE GONE BECAUSE OF YOU! EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!” Images flashed in front of him. His mother with a bullet in her chest. His father walking out with his girlfriend’s hand in his. Adria with deep cuts all along her body, bleeding out on the floor. All the foster parents who told him they cared but gave up on him as soon as it became too much. When HE inevitably became too much.

Different images filled the space. All the foster parents who hurt him, emotionally or physically and the voice spoke again, softer this time.

“ All your fault. You deserved it. You STILL deserve it. You talk too much, you’re annoying, you hurt people. All you DO is hurt people. You deserve to be hurt in return, if not by others, then by yourself.”

A small razor appeared, floating in front of him. He reached for it, but stopped when a little blue-green butterfly landed on his hand. He stared at it a moment and two more of the beautiful insects landed. He was reminded of the butterflies Adria used to draw on his forearms when she was helping him stop cut. The were vaguely reminiscent of the butterflies he would occasionally see on the island.

He retracted his hand and the razor disappeared.

*****************

Alex woke up to a soft knocking on the door and a calming voice he quickly identified as Mrs. Warren.

“Hello dear! Dinner is ready and the other two are home. Come downstairs when you’re ready.”

“I’ll be right down” Alex cringed, his voice was ruff. 

“You okay dear? Your voice sound kind of hoarse.” there it was.

“I’m fine, just fell asleep.” Alex cringed again. His anxiety whispered millions of  insecurities and worries to him in the split second it took Mrs. Warren to answer.

“Alright, just come down when you’re ready.” 

“Will do”  _ oh god that was so informal. There goes my good first impression on Mr. Warren and their kid. She’s probably going to go down there and laugh at how awkward I sounded. God, I’m so unorganized, they’re probably going to send me away tomorrow. You don’t get this lucky twice Alexander, and you’ve already messed it up. You haven’t even met two thirds of the family and they probably already hate you. _

Alex forced himself out of bed and grabbed his ragged brush from his backpack. He ran it through his hair before grabbing a hair elastic and putting a low ponytail in. Looking in the mirror on the wall to his left, he took a deep breath to build his courage and push his demons away, even for a second. Then, he squared his shoulders and walked out the door and down the stairs. 

*************

Mr. Warren was a big man. He was built to fight, to hit. Alex could feel his sense of dread and anxiety build as the dinner went on.

Mr. and Mrs. Warren’s kid ,Gilbert or “Lafayette please, no one is named Gilbert now a days”, was an excitable person who reminded him a great deal of the Lafayette in his last life. They were a very peppy person, and Alex would have found it annoying if it had been most anyone else, but Alex had taken a liking to the older kid. It set him on edge. He didn’t like becoming attached to fast, not only did it break one of his biggest rules, it broke the rule most all foster children knew. Attachments may be comforting in the moment but they always backfired and made leaving all that much harder. And Alex knew better than to hope anyone would keep him.

At some point in the beginning of dinner, Alex had referred to George and Martha as Mr. and Mrs. Warren. Martha had quickly told him not to call them that. Alex expected to call them “sir” and “ma’am” but she hadn’t done that.

“Call us George and Martha, dear. We’re your foster parents, not your high school principal.” He cracked a smile at that but was really having an internal crisis. It was by no means the first time he’d been told to call his foster parents by their first names but it unsettled him every time.

Conversation floated around him and he absorbed it like sponge and water, filing information away to use as conversation starters, planned what he would say, when he’d say it, and what he could do to make sure it didn’t go incredibly wrong.

“Gil, dear, how’s the rest of the Rev squad? They haven’t been over for a while.” Martha spoke with interest and Lafayette beamed.

“They are doing good. Henry has not had much free time now that he is busy with drama club’s costumes but he said he is almost done so you will be seeing him soon,” Alex filed away the names,”John is in South Carolina for the remainder of the week visiting his grandparents with his mother and siblings. They will be back some time Friday. Adria is getting settled into her new home and has joined a social anxiety group. From what I’ve heard her new foster parents are nice enough but as she put it, ‘Are a little pushy and helicoptery’ so she says it is only a matter of time before they drive her crazy.” Alex flinched a bit at the name without realizing. George noticed. He eyed Alex with concern but didn’t say anything. Martha spoke again, this time to both of the kids.

“ When would they all come over? I think it would be nice for Alex to have some friends when school starts up again.” She was silently asking Alex if that was okay. He didn’t object. Martha turned back to Laf.

“Oh! Maybe Saturday? I will ask them.”

“Text them after dinner, Gil. Do you have any homework?” the conversation continued as it had been for the earlier evening. Alex’s mind wandered and took him a few foster houses back. Adria was the sister he never had.

He remembered different days, he would even say better. Adria was sweet and caring, until you attacked someone she took under her wing, that is.

Adria always had a particularly long wingspan.

He pulled himself back into the present, not wanting to miss any vital information about his new environment.

“... Mr. Adason is the worst!” Laf was saying, pointing their spoon to emphasize their point, “ He spent all of class ranting in circles about ‘the queers’ and ‘the stupid liberals’. We didn’t get anything done! And the test is next week!”

Alex decided this was an appropriate time to speak.

“That reminds me of a foster father I once had,” He spoke softly, still getting his courage up, “he hated everything and everyone, avoided any real work religiously too.” His new foster family brighted noticeably as he spoke for the first time without being spoken to directly since dinner started and obviously wanted to continue it for as long as possible.

“What was his name?” George asked.

“That was the Antons,” he was still speaking softly, but he was slowly gaining more and more confident when they didn’t immediately tell him to shut up, “They had a son named Jasper, he was five, the most energetic thing you’ve ever seen.” he chuckled and Martha let out a light laugh before adding playfully,

“Gil might just challenge that,” her tone was teasing and Alex relaxed ever so slightly under the light atmosphere. “ They could get a snail to get up and dance with them.”

Dinner carried on after that and soon enough it was time for bed. The Warrens provided toothpaste for him, as well as many other things. Alex decided not to use them quite yet, unsure if they’d want him very long and not wanting to inconvenience the best family he’d ever had with half or lightly used toiletries they couldn’t return.

It wasn’t until he was settled down for bed that he noticed one small detail. He’d broken his biggest rule,

He’d gotten attached.


	4. New and familiar faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex meets Laf's friends, one of which is familiar, and another definitely is.

Despite his trepidation about getting too attached, Alex found himself enjoying life at the Warrens’. They were kind, and Alex enjoyed their dynamic. He quickly found a friend in Lafayette, their excitable personality winning him over quickly. 

Saturday came quickly and Alex woke up to Laf busting his door open hurriedly. 

“Mon petit lion!” they shouted, and Alex was reminded yet again of the first Lafayette he knew. “ Wake up! You get to meet mes amis today!” Alex sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, yawned and sleepily uttered a small “Alright, alright. I’m up.”

Laf shut the door quickly, clearly eager for the day. Alex was significantly less eager.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to meet Laf’s friends. He was actually quite excited. He likes people, he just isn’t very good with them. In his mind, it was pure luck that he hadn’t messed up his introduction to the Warrens so horribly that they decided right then and there not to foster him. 

This happened at every house, even the better ones,  _ especially  _ the better ones. He constantly worried that he’d say the wrong thing, run his mouth at the wrong moment, or mess up some other disastrous way and they’d realize that they’d made a mistake in fostering him, that they’d send him back after seeing what a mess he was.

This all ran through his head as he got ready for the day. People always told him that he shouldn’t always assume everyone hates him. “You’re making unfair assumptions.” they said, “You’re too pessimistic.” they told him. Adria said he had anxiety. He thought he was just self-aware.

He put his hair into a ponytail, making an effort to look presentable. He found the more confident he felt about a situation, the better it went …or the more he beat himself up when it went wrong. Alex brushed that thought away.

‘It’ll be just fine Alexander,’ he told himself ‘ just remember to breath and it’ll all fall into place.’

He exited his room and walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. The smell of pancakes reached his nose and he smiled. He was still getting used to three meals a day but managed to stomach it all through sheer willpower.

Once he got all the way down the stairs, Martha noticed him and smiled warmly. He was still getting used to that too.

“Good morning Alex!” she exclaimed as she flipped a pancake.

“Good morning Martha”

“There are some pancakes on the dining table.”

“Thanks” 

George came into view as Alex entered the dining room on the other end of the stairs. Alex could feel his nerves building as he saw the man. He still wasn’t quite used to his presence, even if said presence was strangely familiar.

George smiled lightly at Alex as the younger boy entered the room.

“Good morning Alex, did you sleep well.” Alex swallowed the lump in his throat to respond.

“Yes, thank you” Alex sat down at the table just as Laf swung into the dining room.

“John is on his way and Henry will be leaving around 9:30.”

“Good morning to you too Gil.”

“Yes, yes, good morning Peré.” George let out a chuckle and rolled his eyes at the younger person’s response.

“Can you blame me!?!” the pure outrage on Lafayette’s face was so comical that Alex barely restrained his laughter, “Mon petit lion is meeting mes amis today!” 

As if on cue, the door could be heard shutting very faintly. Laf perked up like a dog.

“That must be John!” they practically sprinted out of the room and Alex raised his eyebrows.

“Are they all like that?” he asked George and his foster father chuckled.

“Ah yes, it’ll take some getting used to but I think you’ll all get along just fine.” 

Just then footsteps and a voice calling out “Ack, Laf! Slow down!” came from down the hallway.

“And thus we begin.” George muttered under his breath and Alex heard himself snort over the rapid beating of his heart. His traitorous mind came up with all the ways this could go wrong, and he quickly shut it off, turning his attention to the new presence in the room. 

He was met with curly brown hair, freckles, and tawny green eyes. Eyes that seemed familiar, even though Alex was sure he had never seen them before. 

“You must be Alex.” the boy said, smiling a bit, “Nice to meet you.” Alex put on his best smile, making sure not to grimace with his anxiety.

“And you must be John, it’s nice to meet you t-” before he could finish, Laf let out a loud groan, causing Alexander to jump in surprise.

“Why must you be so formal!?!” John snorted.

“What do you want me to say? Hey nice to meet you, here’s a dick joke?” Alex held back a full blown laugh and settled for a snicker in Laf’s direction. They huffed.

“People these days have no concept of manners.” they murmured.

“Hey! I’m just as old as you are!” John squawked.

“Yes, but  _ I’m  _ french.”

“For the  _ last time, Laf- _ ” the two’s banter was cut off by George clearing his throat, drawing the other three pairs of eyes in his direction.

“You two can continue this argument another time. God knows it’s never finished,” he muttered the last part under his breath, but everyone heard it anyway. “Right now, there’s another matter that demands your attention. And two more that will most likely be showing up sooner rather than later.” The two teens’ eyes strayed immediately to Alex and he shifted uncomfortably under the sudden attention.

“Oh!” Laf shouted, the same energy as he had always-  _ wait no this is a different Lafayette, who goes by different pronouns and had an entirely different soul _ . The two were so alike that Alex had been catching himself mixing them up rather frequently over the past few days.

“Yes of course!” they continued, “John and petit lion must get properly acquainted! And mon coeur and ma cherie will be arriving soon!” Laf grabbed the two boys in the room and didn’t hesitate to drag the two of them into the living room.

They sat down seconds before the door opened and two figures came through. One was a large male and the other a much shorter female. They were laughing about something or other and the girl’s laugh sounded oddly familiar.

The two turned around and-

“Alexander?” the girl breathed, and Alex felt a rush of emotions summarized in a single feeling-packed word.

“Addy”


	5. A series of Conversations and One Explanation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Adria talk, and then explain a few things to some very confused faces from around the house. Everyone is concerned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAH I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I HAVE NO EXCUSE.
> 
> ps hope it was worth the wait.

      The two surged together for a hug. His arms wrapped around Adria’s familiar shoulders and buried his face into her hair, letting out a sob. She mirrored him, her arms curling under his armpits to pull them closer, and they both felt tears running down their faces.

      “Don’t you ever pull that shit ever again, you bitch.” Alex muttered into her ear, still crying. Ria let out an odd mix of a sob and a laugh.

      “Don’t worry Lex, I don’t plan on it,” then she pulled away eruptly and started moving his face this way and that, checking him over. “Where’s your room? You need to tell me everything.” 

      And with that, she dragged him up the stairs so they could talk.

__________

      “I’ll kill that motherf*ucker!” Ria’s face was flushed with anger, after Alex finished his recap. “I’ll tie a rope around his middle, arms, and legs and leave him hanging in a tree like a sloth!” Alex found himself giggling, which he often found himself doing in her presence. God, he missed her.

      “As much as I appreciate it,” he started, still smiling, “it really isn’t necessary.” 

      “‘Not necessary’ my ass!” she exclaimed and opened her mouth to continue before she stopped, a sudden thought seeming to occur to her. “Oh my gods! We completely left the others downstairs! They must be confused out of their minds!”

      “Shoot! We better go back down, but believe me when I say that you’re telling me everything later.” She just laughed and they exited Alex’s room.

      As they reached the bottom of the stairs and proceeded to enter the living room, five pairs of eyes turned to look at them.

Adria spoke first. 

      “Hello guys!” she started awkwardly, “I’d like to reintroduce to you… my brother, Alexander Hernandez.”

      Jaws dropped and awkward silence followed. Ria started to get nervous and rabble.

      “I mean, he isn’t my  _ biological _ brother (obviously) or legally for that matter, either. But honestly who cares anywa-” Alex could always pinpoint the exact moment Ria realized she was rambling, she always cut herself off, usually following up the sudden silence with a drawn out “anyway” or a short “sorry”. Neither of those happened this time, but Alex, standing so close to her, realized she was holding her breath.

      Finally, the boy Alex assumed was Henry, spoke.

      “Talk about coincidences, my God.” 

      “No kidding.” Martha said, shaking her head.

      “Wait,” John said, and Alexander’s pulse skyrocketed in anticipation, “ is this the ‘Alex’ you were telling me about when we were first becoming friends?” Ria nodded.

      “The very same.” John let out a low whistle, and George spoke next.

      “Is this why you flinched when Laf mentioned her the other day? Because you recognised the name?”

      “Uh yeah, we got seperated a while back, didn’t get much of a chance to say goodbye.” Ria’s hand tightened in his.

      “Never again Lexi. They can tear my heart out of my chest before I leave you alone like that again.” Alex flinched at her words.

      “Please don’t say that, Ria.” he begged and she squeezed his hand two times before muttering “yeah, okay.” he squeezed back.

It was silent for a moment before Martha spoke, “Why don’t you kids go upstairs to talk?” they all nodded and headed towards the stairs.

      The five of them settled on Laf’s bed upstairs and fell into an awkward silence before Ria, hating the silence as usual, spoke.

      “I enjoy the feeling of blueberries dissolving in my mouth.” it was silent for a moment before the other four teenagers spoke simultaneously.

      “What the fuck, Adria?” she just shrugged awkwardly and clapped her hands.

      “Well I guess we can all agree that this is one of the most bizarre situations any of us have been in.”

      “No shit Sherlock” John muttered.

      “Fuck off Watson.”

      “Well you haven’t changed a bit..” Alex commented, smiling, then turned to the other three, “Has she pulled any of you guys from a fight by the ear, yet?” Ria scoffed but John raised his hand.

      “On multiple occasions.”

      “Figures.” Alex shook his head.

      “And how many fights would I have had to pull you away from?” She raised her eyebrows while the other three watched the interaction closely. Especially Laf, they hadn’t seen Alex as relaxed since he started living with them.

      “Five.” Alex begrudgingly admitted. “But in my defence, they deserved it!” Ria just shook her head.

      “My gods, sugar. If I didn’t love you…” 

“But you do.” Alex smirked cockily, expecting a playful remark in return. Instead Ria just smiled lovingly.

      “There you are.” 

      “Huh?” 

      “Your fire, dear. I’ve missed your fire. You went grey on me for a while, all closed off. My brother ain’t a dull gray wall, Alex and I’ve missed you.”

      “I’ve missed you too, Ria.” he said softly, grasping her hand firmly and smiling at her. “Oh my god your hands are still tiny!” he exclaimed suddenly and Adria scoffed.

      “You should see hers compared to the rest of ours.”

      “I hate you all.”

“Her hands are the size of Henry’s palms!”

__________

      Adria pulled Alexander aside again later, a solemn look on her face.

      “Are you sure you’re okay, ‘Lex? I don’t like seeing you all grey and closed off.”

      “I will be Ria, just remembering some things. It’ll pass, it always does” She smiled sadly at him.

      “Okay. remember, Alex, I’m always in your corner no matter how far away I am, and now I’m right here so you best be coming to me if ya’ need some’in’.”

      “Couse, Ria. Same goes to you. If you’re in any sort of trouble at all, you come to me, you don’t just ignore it, alright?”

      “Yeah, okay.” at that, Alex switched to a more teasing tone, trying to lighten the mood.

      “I can never tell if your being sarcastic or not.”  She just winked at him in response and said, “Guess you’ll never know.”

 

__________

      It wasn’t until that night, after the rest of the teens had left, that Alex realized Adria had never told him anything about the last while. He was worried but decided to shrug it off, Ria was scatterbrained, after all, there was no reason to be worried quite yet.

      He distracted himself thinking about tawny green eyes, and a strangely familiar smile.

__________

      Martha was concerned. Overjoyed that Alex already knew someone they did? Absolutely. Not concerned about the “tear my heart out” interaction.? Absolutely not.

      She could tell George was worried too, his brow was furrowed and his bald head wrinkled.

      “Am I the only one that found Alex’s reaction to the whole “Tear my heart out” thing?” she asked, disrupting the silence that had settled over the two as they followed their nightly routines. George had to take the toothbrush out of his mouth in order to respond.

      “No, I am too. And at how he tenses up when with a room with me. It’s concerning.” He got a contemplative look all of a sudden, “He also reminds me of a certain someone, though that could just be me wanting him to show up.” George rinsed his mouth and Martha finished her braid. The two of them entered their bedroom and laid on the bed.

      “I’m sure we’ll figure it out in good time.”

      “I suppose so.” George hummed and a soft comfortable silence as the two of them started reading their respective books.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed. second chapter is written and will be out soon.  
> thanks for reading bbs!


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